The tomatoes have been in the ground for a while or are now doing well in pots. They are growing well and are starting to show their first fruits. To ensure that they continue to feel great in the coming period, we share our tips to keep them happy. Because a healthy plant will soon be a tasty tomato.
About thieves and tremors in tomatoes
Also during the summer months, keep removing suckers from your tomatoes: remove axillary shoots that appear between a leaf and the stem of the plant. Do this weekly, then you prevent a tangle of leaves and therefore also a greater chance of mold. A plant that can easily circulate air, especially in a greenhouse, is less susceptible to it. 'Vibration' is also important. Vibration, what? That is tapping or shaking the stick or rope on which your plants grow. Do this every day for 2 to 3 seconds. This ensures that the flowers are pollinated and will later become tomatoes, even if there are few to no bumblebees or bees in the greenhouse.
Leaf picking on tomatoes: do it in August
August is the ideal time to apply leaf plucking to tomatoes. Leaves that hang too low, or hang in front of a bunch, can be removed with a sharp and clean pair of pruning shears. Sometimes you can also easily break them off by pushing them upwards. By doing this you create more air circulation and ensure that bunches are better exposed to sunlight. Sunlight means ripe tomatoes, so only advantages. BUT: you do not want the entire plant to be bare. Leave leaves, they often protect the fruits from extreme sunburn and are necessary to keep the plant alive. Without leaves, the plant cannot photosynthesize and will no longer grow.
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In this video Angelo tells you all about caring for your tomatoes during the summer months.
Fertilizing tomatoes in a pot
If you enrich your soil well with compost beforehand, then extra fertilizers in the open ground are not really necessary. But when you grow tomatoes in pots, then it is advisable to give organic liquid fertilizers weekly, for example. Liquid, because that is very nice and easy to use. The available nutrition in the soil of your potting soil will sooner or later be exhausted , and then it is important to provide your plants with extras. Because again, the better the plant feels, the less diseases and fungi will arise and the more tomatoes you can harvest.
WATERING TOMATOES IN SUMMER
In addition to stealing, shaking flowers and plucking leaves, it is of course important to continue to provide your plants with sufficient water. But do not overdo it. Tomatoes are already quite rooted in the ground at this point and often go in search of water themselves. In addition, too much water can cause the fruits to burst . Logical, because the plant does not know what to do with the excess water and pushes it towards the fruits. Incidentally, burst fruits are often species-dependent. One variety suffers from it, the other does not.
